Riser cone apparatus to provide compliance between reactor components and minimize reactor coolant bypass flow

ABSTRACT

A riser cone has a lower end sized to engage a cylindrical lower riser section of a nuclear reactor and an upper end sized to engage a cylindrical upper riser section of the nuclear reactor. The riser cone defines a compression sealing ring that is compressed between the lower riser section and the upper riser section in the assembled nuclear reactor. In some embodiments the riser cone comprises: a lower element defining the lower end of the riser cone; an upper element defining the upper end of the riser cone; and a compliance spring compressed between the lower element and the upper element. In some embodiments the riser cone comprises a frustoconical compression sealing ring accommodating a reduced diameter of the upper riser section as compared with the diameter of the lower riser section.

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/859,768 filed Apr. 10, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,620,253, the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/625,764 filed Apr. 18, 2012 and titled “UPPER INTERNALS”. U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/625,764 filed Apr. 18, 2012 titled “UPPERINTERNALS” is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into thespecification of this application.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/625,399 filed Apr. 17, 2012 and titled “RISER TRANSITION”. U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/625,399 filed Apr. 17, 2012 titled “RISERTRANSITION” is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into thespecification of this application.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/625,290 filed Apr. 17, 2012 and titled “RISER CONE APPARATUS TOPROVIDE COMPLIANCE BETWEEN REACTOR COMPONENTS AND MINIMIZE REACTORCOOLANT BIPASS FLOW”. U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/625,290 filedApr. 17, 2012 titled “RISER CONE APPARATUS TO PROVIDE COMPLIANCE BETWEENREACTOR COMPONENTS AND MINIMIZE REACTOR COOLANT BIPASS FLOW” is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety into the specification of thisapplication.

BACKGROUND

The following relates to the nuclear reactor arts and related arts.

There is increasing interest in compact reactor designs. Some compactreactor designs are disclosed, for example, in Thome et al., “IntegralHelical-Coil Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor”, U.S. Pub. No.2010/0316181 A1 published Dec. 16, 2010 which is incorporated byreference in its entirety; Malloy et al., “Compact Nuclear Reactor”,U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0076254 A1 published Mar. 29, 2012 which isincorporated by reference in its entirety. These compact reactors are ofthe pressurized water reactor (PWR) type in which a nuclear reactor coreis immersed in primary coolant water at or near the bottom of a pressurevessel, and the primary coolant is suitably light water maintained in asubcooled liquid phase in a cylindrical pressure vessel that is mountedgenerally upright (that is, with its cylinder axis oriented vertically).A hollow cylindrical central riser is disposed concentrically inside thepressure vessel and (together with the core basket or shroud) defines aprimary coolant circuit in which coolant flows upward through thereactor core and central riser, discharges from the top of the centralriser, and reverses direction to flow downward back to below the reactorcore through a downcomer annulus defined between the pressure vessel andthe central riser. The nuclear core is built up from multiple fuelassemblies each comprising a bundle of fuel rods containing fissilematerial (typically ²³⁵U). The compact reactors disclosed in Thome etal. and Malloy et al. are integral PWR designs in which the steamgenerator(s) is disposed inside the pressure vessel, namely in thedowncomer annulus in these designs. Integral PWR designs eliminate theexternal primary coolant loop carrying radioactive primary coolant.

In a typical PWR design, upper internals located above the reactor coreinclude control rod assemblies with neutron-absorbing control rods thatare inserted into/raised out of the reactor core by control rod drivemechanisms (CRDMs). These upper internals include control rod assemblies(CRAs) comprising neutron-absorbing control rods yoked together by aspider. Conventionally, the CRDMs employ motors mounted on tubularpressure boundary extensions extending above the pressure vessel, whichare connected with the CRAs via suitable connecting rods. For compactreactor designs, it is contemplated to replace the external CRDM motorswith wholly internal CRDM motors. See Stambaugh et al., “Control RodDrive Mechanism for Nuclear Reactor”, U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0316177 A1published Dec. 16, 2010 which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety; and DeSantis, “Control Rod Drive Mechanism for NuclearReactor”, U.S. Pub. No. 2011/0222640 A1 published Sep. 15, 2011 which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Disclosed herein are improvements, including, but not limited to, ariser cone apparatus to provide compliance between reactor componentsand minimize reactor coolant bypass flow, that provide various benefitsthat will become apparent to the skilled artisan upon reading thefollowing.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In one disclosed aspect, a nuclear reactor comprises: a cylindricalpressure vessel including an upper vessel section and a lower vesselsection; a nuclear reactor core comprising fissile material disposed inthe cylindrical pressure vessel immersed in primary coolant water; acylindrical central riser disposed in the cylindrical pressure vesselabove the nuclear reactor core, the cylindrical central riser includingan upper riser section disposed in the upper pressure vessel section anda lower riser section disposed in the lower pressure vessel section; anda riser cone disposed between the upper riser section and the lowerriser section, the riser cone providing sealing between the upper andlower riser sections. In some embodiments the lower riser sectioncomprises a core basket or shroud surrounding the nuclear reactor core,and may further comprise a riser transition weldment disposed on thecore basket or shroud, the riser transition weldment including interfacefeatures engaging a lower end of the riser cone. In some embodiments theupper riser section has a smaller diameter than the lower riser sectionand the riser cone comprises a frustoconical compression sealing ringaccommodating the difference in diameters. For example, the riser conemay comprise: a frustoconical body having a lower end engaging the lowerriser section; a sealing ring engaging the upper riser section; and aspring compressed between the sealing ring and an upper end of thefrustoconical body.

In another disclosed aspect, an apparatus comprises a riser cone havinga lower end sized to engage a cylindrical lower riser section of anuclear reactor and an upper end sized to engage a cylindrical upperriser section of the nuclear reactor. The riser cone defines acompression sealing ring that is compressed between the lower risersection and the upper riser section in the assembled nuclear reactor. Insome embodiments the riser cone comprises: a lower element defining thelower end of the riser cone; an upper element defining the upper end ofthe riser cone; and a compliance spring compressed between the lowerelement and the upper element. In some embodiments the riser conecomprises a frustoconical compression sealing ring accommodating areduced diameter of the upper riser section as compared with thediameter of the lower riser section.

In another disclosed aspect, a riser is disclosed for defining a coolantflow path in a nuclear reactor including a hot leg flowing inside theriser and a cold leg flowing outside the riser, the riser comprising ahollow cylindrical upper riser section having a smaller diameter; ahollow cylindrical lower riser section having a diameter that is largerthan the smaller diameter of the hollow cylindrical upper riser section;and a riser cone compressed between a lower end of the hollowcylindrical upper riser section and an upper end of the hollowcylindrical lower riser section, the riser cone having a lower endmating with the upper end of the hollow cylindrical lower riser sectionand an upper end mating with the lower end of the hollow cylindricalupper riser section, the riser cone providing sealing between the lowerend of the hollow cylindrical upper riser section and the upper end ofthe hollow cylindrical lower riser section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may take form in various components and arrangements ofcomponents, and in various process operations and arrangements ofprocess operations. The drawings are only for purposes of illustratingpreferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting theinvention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a compact nuclear reactor in partial cutawayperspective view revealing selected internal components.

FIG. 2 illustrates a variant compact nuclear reactor in perspective viewwith the upper vessel lifted off.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of the variant compact nuclearreactor of FIG. 2 showing principle internal components.

FIGS. 4 and 5 shows perspective and top views, respectively, of anillustrative embodiment of the suspended upper internals.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the riser transition section fromwhich the upper internals are suspended.

FIG. 7 shows a diagrammatic side view of one of the gussets of the risertransition section shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 shows an exploded isolation perspective view of a riser cone andthe riser transition in which the riser cone is lifted off the risertransition weldment.

FIG. 9 shows an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the riser coneof FIG. 8 in its compressed state in which the upper portion of theriser transition of the lower vessel section compresses the riser coneagainst the lower portion of the riser in the installed upper vesselsection.

FIG. 10 shows an enlarged sectional view of the same portion of theriser cone as shown in FIG. 9, in its uncompressed state in which theupper vessel section is lifted off. The nested wave spring is not shownin FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 shows a sectional view of the connection of the lower and uppervessel sections by the mid-flange, with the riser cone of FIG. 8compressed between the central riser of the upper vessel section and theriser transition weldment.

FIG. 12 shows an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the riser coneof FIG. 8 illustrating a pin-and-slot connection between the sealingring and cone body components of the riser cone, and further showing adrain hole for the annular space containing the nested wave spring.

FIG. 13 diagrammatically shows a side view of an alternative,single-piece riser cone embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1, a small modular reactor (SMR) 1 of theintegral pressurized water reactor (PWR) variety is shown in partialcutaway to reveal selected internal components. The illustrative PWR 1includes a nuclear reactor core 2 disposed in a pressure vesselcomprising a lower vessel portion 3 and an upper vessel portion 4. Thelower and upper vessel portions 3, 4 are connected by a mid-flange 5.Specifically, a lower flange 5L at the open top of the lower vesselportion 3 connects with the bottom of the mid-flange 5, and an upperflange 5U at the open bottom of the upper vessel portion 4 connects withthe top of the mid-flange 5.

The reactor core 2 is disposed inside and at or near the bottom of thelower vessel portion 3, and comprises a fissile material (e.g., ²³⁵U)immersed in primary coolant water. A cylindrical central riser 6 isdisposed coaxially inside the cylindrical pressure vessel and adowncomer annulus 7 is defined between the central riser 6 and thepressure vessel. The illustrative PWR 1 includes internal control roddrive mechanisms (internal CRDMs) 8 with internal motors 8 m immersed inprimary coolant that control insertion of control rods to controlreactivity. Guide frames 9 guide the translating control rod assembly(e.g., each including a set of control rods comprising neutron absorbingmaterial yoked together by a spider and connected via a connecting rodwith the CRDM). The illustrative PWR 1 employs one or more internalsteam generators 10 located inside the pressure vessel and secured tothe upper vessel portion 4, but embodiments with the steam generatorslocated outside the pressure vessel (i.e., a PWR with external steamgenerators) are also contemplated. The illustrative steam generator 10is of the once-through straight-tube type with an internal economizer,and are fed by a feedwater inlet 11 and deliver steam to a steam outlet12. See Malloy et al., U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0076254 A1 published Mar. 29,2012 which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. Theillustrative PWR 1 includes an integral pressurizer 14 at the top of theupper vessel section 4 which defines an integral pressurizer volume 15;however an external pressurizer connected with the pressure vessel viasuitable piping is also contemplated. The primary coolant in theillustrative PWR 1 is circulated by reactor coolant pumps (RCPs)comprising in the illustrative example external RCP motors 16 driving animpeller located in a RCP casing 17 disposed inside the pressure vessel.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, a variant PWR design 1′ is shown, whichdiffers from the PWR 1 of FIG. 1 by having a differently shaped uppervessel section 4′ and internal RCPs 16′ in place of the external pumps16, 17 of the PWR 1. FIG. 2 shows the pressure vessel with the uppervessel section 4′ lifted off, as is done during refueling. Themid-flange 5 remains disposed on the lower flange 5L of the lower vessel3. FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the lower vessel section 3 andprinciple components contained therein, including: the nuclear reactorcore 2 comprising fuel assemblies 2′ contained in a core former 20disposed in a core basket 22.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, and with further referenceto FIGS. 4 and 5, above the reactor core assembly 2, 20, 22 are theupper internals which include a suspended support assembly 24 comprisingan upper hanger plate 30, a mid-hanger plate 32, and a lower hangerplate 34 suspended by tie rods 36 from the mid-flange 5. Moreparticularly, in the illustrative embodiment the upper ends of the tierods 36 are secured to a riser transition section 38 that is in turnsecured with the mid-flange 5. The central riser 6 disposed in the uppervessel section 4, 4′ (shown only in FIG. 1) is connected with the corebasket 22 in the lower vessel section 3 by the riser transition section38 and riser cone 70 to form a continuous hollow cylindrical flowseparator between the columnar hot leg of the primary coolant pathflowing upward and the cold leg that flows downward through thedowncomer annulus surrounding the hot leg. The suspended supportassembly 24 comprising hanger plates 30, 32, 34 interconnected by tierods 36 provides the structural support for the CRDMs 8 and the guideframes 9 (note the CRDMs 8 and guide frames 9 are omitted in FIG. 3).The CRDMs 8 are disposed between the upper hanger plate 30 and themid-hanger plate 32, and are either (1) top-supported in a hangingfashion from the upper hanger plate or (2) bottom-supported on themid-hanger plate 32 (as in the illustrative embodiments describedherein). Lateral support for the CRDMs 8 is provided by both plates 30,32. (Note that in the illustrative embodiment, the CRDMs 8 actually passthrough openings of the upper hanger plate 30 so that the tops of theCRDMs 8 actually extend above the upper hanger plate 30, as best seen inFIG. 1). The guide frames 9 are disposed between the mid-hanger plate 32and the lower hanger plate 34, and are likewise either (1) top-supportedin a hanging fashion from the mid-hanger plate 32 (as in theillustrative embodiments described herein) or (2) bottom-supported onthe lower hanger plate. Lateral support for the guide frames 9 isprovided by both plates 32, 34.

One of the hanger plates, namely the mid-hanger plate 32 in theillustrative embodiments, also includes or supports a distribution platethat includes mineral insulated cabling (MI cables) for deliveringelectrical power to the CRDM motors 8M and, in some embodiments,hydraulic lines for delivering hydraulic power to scram latches of theCRDMs 8. In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3 (and as seen in FIG. 3), theinternal RCPs 16′ are also integrated into the upper internals assembly24, for example on an annular pump plate providing both separationbetween the suction (above) and discharge (below) sides of the RCPs 16′and also mounting supports for the RCPs 16′.

The disclosed upper internals have numerous advantages. The suspensionframe 24 hanging from the mid-flange 5 is a self-contained structurethat can be lifted out of the lower vessel section 3 as a unit duringrefueling. Therefore, the complex assembly of CRDMs 8, guide frames 9,and ancillary MI cabling (and optional hydraulic cabling) does not needto be disassembled during reactor refueling. Moreover, by lifting theassembly 5, 24, 8, 9 out of the lower vessel 3 as a unit (e.g. using acrane) and moving it to a suitable work stand, maintenance can beperformed on the components 5, 24, 8, 9 simultaneously with therefueling, thus enhancing efficiency and speed of the refueling. Thetensile forces in the tie rods 36 naturally tend to laterally align thehanger plates 30, 32, 34 and thus the mounted CRDMs 8 and guide frames9.

The upper internals are thus a removable internal structure that isremoved as a unit for reactor refueling. The upper internals basket(i.e., the suspension frame 24) is advantageously flexible to allow formovement during fit-up when lowering the upper internals into positionwithin the reactor. Toward this end, the horizontal plates 30, 32, 34are positioned at varying elevations and are connected to each other,and the remainder of the upper internals, via the tie rods 36. Thedesign of the illustrative upper internals basket 24 is such that thecontrol rod guide frames 9 are hung from the mid-hanger plate 32(although in an alternative embodiment the guide frames arebottom-supported by the lower hanger plate). In the top-supportedhanging arrangement, the guide frames 9 are laterally supported at thebottom by the lower hanger plate 34. The upper internals are alignedwith the core former 20 and/or core basket 22 to ensure proper fit-up ofthe fuel to guide frame interface. This alignment is achieved by keyingfeatures of the lower hanger plate 34.

The illustrated upper internals are merely illustrative examples, andnumerous variants are contemplated. For example, the suspended frame ofthe upper internals can include more than three plates, e.g. the powerdistribution plate could be a separate fourth plate. In another variant,the mid-hanger plate 32 could be separated into two separate hangerplates—an upper mid-hanger plate bottom-supporting the CRDMs, and alower mid-hanger plate from which the guide frames are suspended. Insuch a case, the two mid-hanger plates would need to be aligned bysuitable alignment features to ensure relative alignment between theCRDMs and the guide frames.

With reference to FIG. 6, the riser transition 38 is shown inperspective view. The riser transition assembly 38 performs severalfunctions. The riser transition 38 provides load transfer from the tierods 36 of the upper internals basket 24 to the mid-flange 5 of thereactor pressure vessel. Toward this end, the riser transition 38includes gussets 40 by which the riser transition 38 is welded to themid-flange 5. (See also FIGS. 4 and 5 showing the riser transition 38with gussets 40 welded to the mid-flange 5). One or more of thesegussets 40 may include a shop lifting lug 42 or other fastening point tofacilitate transport, for example when the upper internals are liftedout during refueling. The load transfer from the tie rods 36 to themid-flange 5 is mostly vertical loading due to the overall weight of theupper internals. However, there is also some radial differential ofthermal expansion between the riser transition gussets 40 and themid-flange 5, and the riser transition 38 has to also absorb thesethermal loads. As already mentioned, the riser transition 38 also acts(in conjunction with the central riser 6 and core basket 22) as the flowdivider between the hot leg and cold leg of the primary coolant loop.Still further, the riser transition 38 also houses or includes anannular hydraulic collection header 44 for supplying hydraulic power viavertical hydraulic lines 46 to the CRDMs (in the case of embodimentsemploying hydraulically driven scram mechanisms). The riser transition38 also has an annular interface feature 48 for fit-up with a riser cone(see, e.g. FIG. 8) or other connection with the central riser 6, andfeature cuts 50 to allow the passing of the CRDM electrical MI cable.

With brief returning reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the gussets 40 aresuitably welded to the mid-flange 5 at one end and welded to the mainbody portion of the riser transition assembly 38 at the other end. Theriser transition 38 is suitably made of 304L steel, in some embodiments,e.g. by machining from a ring forging.

With reference to FIG. 7, an illustrative gusset 40 is shown, having afirst end 60 that is welded to the mid-flange 5 and a second end 62 thatis welded to the riser transition 38 as already described. The gusset 40includes horizontal cantilevered portion 64, and a tensile-strainedportion 66 that angles generally downward, but optionally with an angleA indicated in FIG. 7. The horizontal cantilevered portion 64 has athickness d_(cant) that is relatively greater than a thickness d_(G) ofthe tensile-strained portion 66. The thicker cantilevered portion 64handles the vertical loading component, while the tensile-strainedportion 66 allows the gusset 40 to deflect in the lateral direction toabsorb lateral loading due to thermal expansion.

The coupling of the riser transition weldment 38 to the hollowcylindrical central riser 6 in the upper vessel section or portion 4 canbe accomplished in various ways. In one approach, the central riser 6 isdirectly coupled with the riser transition weldment 38. However, in this“direct connect” approach requires precise alignment between the twocomponents 6, 38, which may be difficult to achieve in the field, andmoreover the alignment may be adversely affected by thermal expansion asthe reactor is raised to its operational temperature.

A further difficulty may arise in embodiments such as those of FIGS. 1and 3 in which an internal steam generator 10 is located in thedowncomer annulus 7 defined between the central riser 6 and the uppervessel section 4. In such embodiments, it may be advantageous for thecentral riser in the upper vessel section to be made of reduced diameteras compared with the core basket or shroud 22, in order to enlarge thedowncomer annulus 7 to permit a larger steam generator. In suchembodiments, the coupling of the riser transition weldment 38 to thehollow cylindrical central riser 6 should be conical—but such conicalnarrowing reduces the diameter of the overhead opening through which theupper internals are accessible.

With reference to FIG. 8, in embodiments disclosed herein, thesedifficulties are overcome by use of a compliant riser cone 70 that isdisposed between the bottom end of the central riser 6 and the risertransition weldment 38. FIG. 8 shows an exploded view in which the risercone 70 is lifted away from the riser transition 38 (shown in isolationin FIG. 8). When the riser cone 70 is lowered onto the riser transition38, the angle A of the tensile-strained portion 66 of the gussets 40(see FIG. 7) provides lead-in for a riser cone 70. The end 62 of thegusset 40 that is welded to the riser transition 38 includes an upperledge 68 that, along with the annular interface feature 48 of the risertransition weldment 38, serves as the interface receiving the(relatively) larger-diameter lower end 72 of the riser cone 70. The(relatively) smaller-diameter upper end 74 of the riser cone 70 engagesthe bottom of the central riser 6 (not shown in FIG. 8). The riser cone70 is an element or assembly that provides a boundary between the hotand cold leg reactor coolant flow paths and directs reactor coolant flowbetween the upper vessel 4 and lower vessel 3.

The riser cone 70 is further described with continuing reference to FIG.8 which shows the riser cone assembly 70 lifted off the riser transition38, and with further reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 which show an enlargedsectional view of a portion of the riser cone 70 when compressed by theriser transition 6 and the installed upper vessel section 4 (FIG. 9) andin the uncompressed state with the upper vessel section 4 removed (FIG.10). The riser cone 70 includes three major components: a riser conebody 80, a riser cone sealing ring 82, and a nested wave spring 84(visible in FIG. 9; the spring 84 is omitted in FIG. 10 to illustratethe annular space 86 in which the spring is disposed).

With continuing reference to FIGS. 8-10 and with further reference toFIG. 11, the riser cone 70 is positioned between the upper vesselsection 4 (and more particularly the central riser 6) and the risertransition weldment 38, as shown in the sectional view of FIG. 11.During operation, the distance between the upper vessel 4 and centralriser 6 on the one hand, and riser transition 38 on the other hand, willchange due to pressure loads and thermal expansion. To accommodate thisbehavior, the riser cone 70 contains a compliance feature, such as theillustrative sealing ring 82 and nested wave spring 84 engaging the conebody 80, which allows the riser cone 70 to extend and compress whilemaintaining separation between the reactor coolant hot leg and cold leg.The spring 84 acts to separate the riser cone sealing ring 82 from theriser cone body 80.

The illustrative riser cone 70 also incorporates features to enabletimely installation and removal during reactor refueling, maintenance,and service operations. The illustrative riser cone 70 is not fastenedto either the upper vessel component (e.g. central riser 6) or the lowervessel component (e.g. riser transition weldment 38). As a result, theinstallation and removal of the riser cone 70, and its ability toself-align, are enhanced. Optional lifting features, such as lugs 90forged with or welded to the cone body 80 in the illustrative example,are provided so that the riser cone 70 may be raised and lowered usingstandard equipment available in the reactor containment building, suchas a crane (not shown). The lifting features 90 optionally also serve aslocators to center the riser cone 70 within the upper vessel riser(i.e., respective to the central riser 6, see FIG. 11) when the uppervessel 4 is mated to the lower vessel 3.

The compression of the sealing ring 82 and the cone body 80 provides asubstantial seal against reactor coolant bypass flow through the risercone 70; however, some bypass flow is contemplated and permissible.Reactor coolant bypass flow between the cold leg side (downward throughthe downcomer 7 and outside the core basket or shroud 22 in theillustrative embodiments) and the hot leg side of the riser cone (upwardthrough the inside of the core basket or shroud 22 and the inside of thecentral riser 6 in the illustrative examples) is minimized byconstructing the riser cone 70 to present a tortuous path for coolantbypass flow. The geometry of the illustrative riser cone 70 includesfeatures which force the reactor coolant bypass flow through smallchannel fluid paths between the cold leg side and hot leg side. Thisincreases the head losses through the riser cone bypass flow channels,and as a result, decreases the bypass flow rates.

With reference to FIG. 12, the coupling of the sealing ring 82 to thecone body 80 comprises a pin and slot design to improve translation ofthe riser cone sealing ring 82 with respect to the riser cone body 80.This design also prevents the riser cone assembly 70 from separatinginto multiple pieces (i.e. retains the sealing ring 82 and wave spring84 on the cone body 80) and limits the overall travel to a designatedamount. As seen in FIG. 12, a pin 94 passes through the side of thesealing ring 82 and engages a slot 96 in the side of the cone body 80.(One such pin/slot pair is shown in the detail view of FIG. 12, butseveral such features are distributed around the circumference of thesealing ring 82). The vertical travel (or translation) of the sealingring 82 respective to the cone body 80 is thus limited to the height ofthe slot 96 (minus the diameter of the shaft of the pin 94, which istypically relatively small). Another feature shown in FIG. 12 is a drainhole 98, one or more of which are provided to enable primary coolant toenter or exit the annular space 96 containing the nested wave spring 84as the sealing ring 82 moves up or down respective to the cone body 80.

An advantage of the illustrative riser cone 70 is the ability to providea transition between the reactor coolant flow areas of the upper vesselassembly and the corresponding flow areas of the lower vessel assemblywhile maintaining a physical boundary between the reactor coolant in thehot leg and cold leg sides. In an integral PWR such as those shown inFIGS. 1-3, the riser cone 70 is advantageously easily installed andremoved to facilitate refueling and maintenance procedures. To addressthis issue, the riser cone 70 is not fastened between any neighboringcomponents (e.g., the central riser 6 or the core basket or shroud 22).As seen in FIG. 11, the geometry of the cone (or, more precisely,frustum of a cone) of the cone body 80 is chosen to accommodate anynarrowed diameter of the central riser 6 as compared with the corebasket or shroud 22. At the same time, as seen in FIG. 8, once the risercone 70 is removed, the overhead opening for accessing the upperinternals is the large diameter of the riser transition weldment 38,which is close to the diameter of the core basket or shroud 22. Anadditional advantage of the riser cone 70 is its ability to self-alignbetween the interfacing components 6, 22 as the upper vessel assembly ismated to the lower vessel assembly.

The illustrative riser cone 70 serves as a compression sealing ring forsealing the connection of the upper cylindrical riser 6 in the uppervessel section 4 with the core basket or shroud 22 of the lower vesselsection 3. The riser cone 70 has a frustoconical shape to accommodatethe narrowed central riser 6 as compared with the larger-diameter corebasket or shroud 22, although some variation from a mathematicalfrustoconical structure is contemplated.

Various alternative or variant embodiments are contemplated. Somealternative embodiments of the riser cone include the following. Theriser cone may be a single part rather than an assembly. The compliancefeature (that is, the ability to expand and contract with neighboringcomponents) may utilize any type of spring or no spring. The interfacingcomponents may be different than those of the illustrated embodiment.Fasteners between the riser cone and neighboring components may beincluded. The lifting and alignment features may be relocated, replacedby alternative geometry, or omitted entirely. Baffles or other featuresmay be included to further reduce bypass flow. The fluid around theriser cone may flow in different directions than those of theillustrative PWR embodiments. The drain holes may be located elsewhereand/or may assume alternate geometry. The pin and slot features 94, 96may be replaced by alternate designs including but not limited to axial(vertical direction) rather than radial arrangement. The riser cone mayinclude one, more, all, or none of the foregoing variations, or othervariations.

With reference to FIG. 13, in another contemplated variant embodiment,the two-piece riser cone 70 with springs 84 for compliance is replacedby a single-piece riser cone 170 having lower and upper ends 72, 74corresponding to these ends of the riser cone 70, in which the shape ofthe single-piece riser cone 170 includes a deformable portion 172 toprovide compliance. The design of FIG. 13 is expected to exhibitadditional pressure drop as compared with the embodiment of FIGS. 8-12.

The preferred embodiments have been illustrated and described.Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others uponreading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It isintended that the invention be construed as including all suchmodifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope ofthe appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

We claim:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a riser cone having a lower endsized to engage a cylindrical lower riser section of a nuclear reactorand an upper end sized to engage a cylindrical upper riser section ofthe nuclear reactor; wherein the riser cone defines a compressionsealing ring that is compressed between the lower riser section and theupper riser section in the assembled nuclear reactor.
 2. The apparatusof claim 1 wherein the riser cone comprises a frustoconical compressionsealing ring accommodating a reduced diameter of the upper riser sectionas compared with the diameter of the lower riser section.
 3. Theapparatus claims 1 wherein the riser cone comprises: a lower elementdefining the lower end of the riser cone; an upper element defining theupper end of the riser cone; and a compliance spring compressed betweenthe lower element and the upper element.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3wherein the compliance spring comprises a nested wave spring.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 3 wherein: the lower element comprises a cone bodythat narrows in diameter between the lower end of the riser cone and anupper end of the cone body; and the upper element comprises a sealingring disposed on the upper end of the cone body with the compliancespring compressed between the sealing ring and the upper end of the conebody.
 6. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the lower element and theupper element are connected by pin-and-slot connections that limittravel of the upper element respective to the lower element.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the riser cone comprises: a single-piecefrustoconical body accommodating a reduced diameter of the upper risersection as compared with the diameter of the lower riser section andhaving a deformable portion between the lower end and the upper end. 8.A riser for defining a coolant flow path in a nuclear reactor includinga hot leg flowing inside the riser and a cold leg flowing outside theriser, the riser comprising: a hollow cylindrical upper riser sectionhaving a smaller diameter; a hollow cylindrical lower riser sectionhaving a larger diameter that is larger than the smaller diameter of thehollow cylindrical upper riser section; and a riser cone compressedbetween a lower end of the hollow cylindrical upper riser section and anupper end of the hollow cylindrical lower riser section, the riser conehaving a lower end mating with the upper end of the hollow cylindricallower riser section and an upper end mating with the lower end of thehollow cylindrical upper riser section, the riser cone providing sealingbetween the lower end of the hollow cylindrical upper riser section andthe upper end of the hollow cylindrical lower riser section.
 9. Theriser of claim 8 wherein the hollow cylindrical lower riser sectioncomprises a core basket or shroud surrounding a nuclear reactor core.10. The riser of claim 9 wherein the hollow cylindrical lower risersection further comprises a riser transition weldment disposed on thecore basket or shroud, the riser transition weldment including interfacefeatures engaging the lower end of the riser cone.
 11. The riser ofclaim 8 wherein the riser cone comprises a frustoconical compressionsealing ring accommodating the difference between the smaller diameterof the hollow cylindrical upper riser section and the larger diameter ofthe hollow cylindrical lower riser section.
 12. The riser of claim 8wherein the riser cone comprises: a frustoconical body including thelower end mating with the upper end of the hollow cylindrical lowerriser section; a sealing ring including the upper end mating with thelower end of the hollow cylindrical upper riser section; and a springcompressed between the sealing ring and an upper end of thefrustoconical body.
 13. The riser of claim 12 wherein the springcomprises a nested wave spring.
 14. The riser of claim 8 wherein theriser cone comprises: a single-piece frustoconical body having adeformable portion between the lower end and the upper end.